[0:00] Let's go to Revelation 21. We're going to start it really late today. Revelation 21. And Jared. Can you go see my glasses are on the podium in there?
[0:21] Moved it out of the way and forgot? Yes. All right. We've been talking, those of you with me in the afternoon, about living in reality.
[0:44] And reality is not what most people think it is. Thank you. Most people think reality is what is ever happening in this world. But we're talking about the reality that we have in Jesus Christ.
[0:56] And we've gone through all kinds of things. Recently, we went through the reality of the future judgment on the lost during the tribulation, great white throne judgment, and all of that.
[1:09] Today, we're going to talk about the fact that Christ will rule. The contrast between what's going to happen in the end times for the unsaved and what's going to happen for the saved.
[1:21] Christ is going to be in charge. He's going to rule over everything that takes place. We look forward to heaven. You know, we talk about, like I said, the tribulation and the great white throne.
[1:33] Those are things we don't really want to talk about, really don't want to think about. But the fact that we get to live forever with Christ, that is something we do get excited about and think about.
[1:44] And so, first of all, Christ's rule on a new earth. We're going to talk about Christ's ruling on a new earth. Let's have a word of prayer, and then we'll begin. To heaven, Father, I pray that you would just be with us this morning as we look at your word.
[1:58] Lord, I pray that you would help us as we talk about what's going to happen in the future. And, Lord, what's going to happen in the future for us as Christians. In fact, we have a new heaven, a new earth.
[2:10] Christ is going to be with us. Lord, there's just so many things that we have to look forward to. And I pray that you would just bless our time together as we begin talking about those things. Let's guide us now. In Jesus' name, amen.
[2:23] After the great white throne judgment, God's going to destroy this present world and give us a new one. You don't have to turn there.
[2:35] I've got you in Revelation 21. But in 2 Peter 3, beginning at verse 10, it says this, But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat.
[2:51] The earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up, seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hastening unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens, being on fire, shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat.
[3:17] Nevertheless, we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. He says we're going to have a new heaven and a new earth in which to dwell, and Christ is going to set up his kingdom on this new heaven and this new earth.
[3:36] And one of the great things about this new heaven and new earth, Christ's presence. Christ's presence. He is going to be there with us.
[3:48] That's what's going to make heaven heaven, is the fact that we get to dwell with Christ. That's what's going to make hell hell. No Christ. No God. No hope.
[3:58] We have hope. We have Jesus Christ present with us all the way. It's just going to be a fantastic place for us to spend eternity with him.
[4:15] Just think about that. He's going to be with us. We get to talk with him. We get to ask him questions. We get to do everything we've always wanted to know. Well, we're going to find out.
[4:27] He's going to be there with us. You know? So, yes, we get a new heaven. We get a new earth. We get a new Jerusalem. But we get Jesus to be there with us.
[4:40] Look at Revelation 21 there. Look at verse 3. It says, I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
[5:02] Think about that for a second. What do you think is going to be the thing that you appreciate about God's presence in heaven forever?
[5:15] I mentioned a couple of things. What do you think? What's going to be the greatest thing about heaven? Especially the fact that God is there. Amanda?
[5:31] Okay. No sin. Good. No sin. I mentioned we get to talk with him.
[5:44] Have conversations. Find out things that we've always wanted to. It's going to be such a great time. See, remember, God dwelt with man back in the Garden of Eden until Adam and Eve sinned.
[6:00] He dwelt with them there. Later, he dwelt with mankind, tabernacle, temple. He dwelt with men, but men sinned. We have that sin nature in us.
[6:13] You know, in this present time, what does he do? He dwells with us through the Holy Spirit that's in our lives. He dwells with us by his continuing presence with us all the time.
[6:25] We can go to him. We can ask for guidance. We can ask what he wants. Even though we still have sin-cursed bodies. We can have that time with him. Problem is, with the sin curse, we continually quench the spirit at times.
[6:42] We quench what God is doing. We have a spirit of disobedience a lot of times because of that sin nature being in us. So when Christ returns, we'll be free from all of that.
[6:54] We won't have that type of life. We won't have all of those things taking place when he comes back in the millennium. What types of memories?
[7:07] Think about what the Bible says. Look at verse 4. What kind of things might trouble us?
[7:28] Regret and guilt. Okay? Regret and guilt about the things that we have done. Or the things we didn't do in the past. Regret about loved ones who may be passed on.
[7:43] There's all kinds of regret about opportunities that maybe we missed in telling people and stuff. Why is God...
[7:54] What's he going to do with all those memories that he's saying in those verses? He's going to wipe them away. He's going to take care of them. He's going to get rid of them. We will no longer have those memories that would cause us distress and cause us sorrow and cause us tears in heaven.
[8:10] It says he will wipe away all tears. Does that mean he's just going to come along and, oh, you're crying. Here, let me tear you up. Let me tell you a joke. No.
[8:23] He's going to wipe away all those things that would cause us sorrow. All those things that would cause us pain. You know, we won't have a reason to feel sad anymore.
[8:35] No more death. No more pain. No more sorrow. Man. That can be a great, great thing for us when he does that.
[8:49] Look at verse 5. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I will make all things new. And he said unto me, Write, for these words are true and faithful.
[9:02] All things new. No decay. No death. They're not going to wear out. You know how you got your house all set up and brand new.
[9:16] Some people have a brand new house and stuff. And already things are starting to go, aren't they? Yep. He's shaking his head. Yeah. You know, he says, Look, none of that is going to happen anymore.
[9:31] He says, I'm building you a new house. I'm getting a mansion prepared for you. And none of that stuff is going to happen. No leaky plumbing. No leaky plumbing. That's right. So, we're going to go there.
[9:43] And we're going to be with him. And Bonnie sells Arbonne stuff. Not going to need any of that stuff anymore. All right? Mary Kay or whoever you use.
[9:54] Not going to need all that stuff anymore. So, it's going to be a great, great world. And it's going to be that way forever. Did you notice what he said there in verse 5?
[10:06] The end of it. Write, for these words are faithful and true. True and faithful. True and faithful. In fact, look over at 22, verse 6.
[10:17] Chapter 22, verse 6. It says, And he said unto me, These things are faithful and true. Notice he keeps repeating that. God's word is true.
[10:29] God's word is faithful. He's always going to keep his promises to us. He's always going to take care of us. And his word is powerful. It's true. It's something that we can rely on.
[10:41] And in eternity, all of these things are going to happen. All these things are going to take place. That God has for us. He actually says he's going to offer us a fountain of life.
[10:54] Look in 21, 6 again. And he said unto me, It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is the thirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
[11:07] Look in 22, 1. And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. We won't have a physical thirst anymore like we have now.
[11:23] You know, you watch a lot of people today. They've always got their water bottle nearby. Carry it with them everywhere they go. I was going to say, there's a lot of you have them right there beside you right now. Mine, right there.
[11:37] I have it close by. You're always going to have that water bottle. You're not going to need that in heaven. Not only are you not going to need that, but he says there's a tree of life. If you look in 22, 2, he talked about the tree of life that is there.
[11:51] That we have near us. We're not going to have that physical thirst, but there's a river of life. A river of blessing. I believe there's going to be water.
[12:05] When I first started reading these things about, there was no water. No need for it and stuff. I'm like, but I like the ocean. I live in Maine. That's part of the reason I live here.
[12:17] I like the ocean. But then as I'm studying, he talks about that river of life. There's going to be something for us there to see, but it's not going to be because we need that river.
[12:29] It's not going to be because we need to have it. He goes on and he's talking in verse 7. Notice what he says. He that overcometh shall inherit all things, and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
[12:50] We will be the children of God. We are the children of God. He already sees us that way. But when we get to heaven, he is going to be our father.
[13:01] We are going to be his children. Why is it he says over in Romans that we are joint heirs with Jesus Christ? Because we are made part of the family of God. We are part of his family.
[13:16] Can you think about that for a second? God is our father. And when you think about that, oh, that's going to be so great when we get to heaven. What about now? We are his children now.
[13:30] He is our father now. We need to keep that in mind as we go through life. You know? We will have different privileges.
[13:42] We will have different responsibilities when it comes to that time. We are going to have rewards. Remember, based on the judgment seat of Christ, not the great white throne judgment.
[13:54] That's for the unsaved. The judgment seat of Christ is for the saved, where we get our rewards and things. It's going to be a stark contrast between living with Jesus Christ and watching, well, knowing that it's a hell and a lake of fire.
[14:11] But we have Jesus himself. Look down at verse 22 there of chapter 21. Verse 22 says, And I saw no temple there in, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.
[14:31] Think about that for a second. We don't have to go to church. We don't have to go to the temple. We don't have to do those things. Why? Jesus Christ is there.
[14:43] You know, what's the significance in that verse that he talks about the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb? Why is it important that he used the word the Lamb there?
[15:00] Okay, because Jesus is the Lamb of God. What does that mean? He was the sacrifice. Yeah. He was the sacrifice for us. We don't have to have church or the temple and things because the sacrifice is there with us all the time.
[15:16] we have him right there as part. And his going to the cross, what did it do? It gave us access to heaven.
[15:26] It gave us access to the Father. The fact that God is there, Jesus, is the temple there, what does that mean for us?
[15:40] No barriers. No barriers are getting. We don't have to go through any men. We don't have to worry about sin being a barrier. We have absolute contact with him all the time.
[15:55] When we see Jesus, one of the things we talk about and sing about, the fact that we'll see him and we'll see the nail prints in his hand, we'll see the side, we'll see the marks of everything he went through.
[16:09] And it'll remind us that there was a high price paid for our redemption. We'll be reminded that he did this for us so that we might be with him there in heaven.
[16:24] It'll be a constant reminder. He loves us so much that he did this for us and he prepared this place for us. What a great thing.
[16:36] Another thing about not only is he a temple, but look at verse 5 of 22. 22.5 says, And there shall be no night there, and they need no candle, neither light of the sun.
[16:50] For the Lord God giveth them light, and they shall reign forever and ever. Look at back at 21. Verse 23. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb of God is the light thereof.
[17:10] We have no need of the sun or the moon anymore because Jesus himself is there. Jesus says, I am the light of the world. And he's there as the light of the world.
[17:23] He's there as the light of heaven. So we have Christ's presence with us. What a difference that's going to make in our lives. But, he also says, we have a new city.
[17:36] There's going to be a new city. After being with Christ forever, we'll be the greatest aspect of heaven, but we'll thoroughly enjoy the fact that he has made a place for us.
[17:51] Remember in John 14, verses 1 through 3, let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you.
[18:02] I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there ye may be also.
[18:15] Probably, Jesus is talking about the new Jerusalem that he was preparing. He's preparing a place for us. Notice he said in there, for you. I'm preparing a place for you.
[18:29] The fact that he's doing that, he's preparing a place for us, makes it personal to us. It's a gift to us that he is giving to us.
[18:41] You know, it's a description of what you might expect to see, coming, be looking forward to. There in Revelation 21, you're still there.
[18:52] Look at verse 2. It says, And I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
[19:08] Picture the city coming down. He says, it's adorned as a bride for her husband. With that thought in mind, how do you picture this new Jerusalem?
[19:23] How do you picture what is coming? How do you picture a bride on her wedding day? So the city's going to come down with a veil and a long train behind it?
[19:36] No. But what else do you notice about it? That's true. That's true. That's true. So how do you picture it?
[19:49] What do you think is going to happen? Radiant. Radiant. Good. Beautiful. All right. Radiant and beautiful. Amanda? It's probably going to be, you know, for a bride on her wedding day, it's probably going to be the most beautiful.
[20:04] So it's probably going to be the most beautiful thing that we've seen. Yeah. Going to be radiant. Pure. Set apart.
[20:15] All of those different things. On that wedding day, the groom is standing here, that bride comes. All attention. Waiting for that bride to get there.
[20:30] The new Jerusalem is going to be a perfect place. God's going to build it out of love for us. He's going to build it out of wisdom. He knows how to build things better than any of us do.
[20:41] He has all of that taken care of. You know, even the greatest cities of the world today. And if you look, sometimes you'll find pictures of some of the cities around the world.
[20:58] They are gorgeous. The way they're laid out, they're new cities, they're put together so well. And they're just phenomenal. He says, this is going to far surpass anything you've ever seen.
[21:17] Verses 9 through 21, I'm going to hit some highlights. I'm not going to read it all because of time, but look at me at verse 9 of chapter 21 there. And there came unto me one of the seven angels, which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, and I will show thee the bride, the lamb's wife.
[21:40] And he carried me away in the spirit into a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God. Having the glory of God and her light was like a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal.
[21:59] And he goes on and he talks about the gates being made of pearls. And he goes on and talks about the foundation that was laid. And he talks about how big the city is. Verse 16.
[22:10] And the city lieth four square, and the length is as large as the breadth. And he measured the city with a reed twelve thousand furlongs, and the length and the breadth of the height of it are equal.
[22:23] And he measured the wall thereof in a hundred and forty and forty-four cubits. And according to the measure of a man, and he goes on and then he's verse 19 and 20, he's describing the foundation.
[22:36] And he says every foundation, and there's twelve of them, every foundation is like a different precious stone. And then in verse 21, the twelve gates were twelve pearls.
[22:51] When you think about the description of what he's giving there, what impresses you the most as you think about what he's describing.
[23:03] When I got thinking about it, Ricky's a builder, he knows the importance of a foundation. And a foundation is the center of everything.
[23:15] It's the thing least seen, but if you don't get the foundation right, the whole building's messed up. And did you notice in here, twelve foundations.
[23:26] and every one of them a different stone. Can you imagine the light of Christ hitting that city like sunrise does here and hitting all those different layers of precious jewels?
[23:45] What is that going to look like? I was thinking, he's the light in the center, and so it's coming out through all. And it could be coming out through all that. That's a good point. Yeah?
[23:56] It will be dazzling. And then you put it on the top of that and it says there's gold there, not just on the streets, but there's gold in other places. Just, what is it going to look like?
[24:08] We can't even fathom what it's going to look like. And then he talks about how big it was there in those verses about the fact that it's square and the width and the length and the height are all the same.
[24:22] How big is that? Well, let me tell you how big that is. 14,000, no, 1,400 miles wide, long, and tall.
[24:35] 1,400 miles. Wow, that's a lot. I wonder how big that is. Oh, okay, I'm glad you asked. Look at the picture of the United States.
[24:47] picture in your mind. California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota.
[25:11] What's that? Two-thirds of the country? That's how big the city will be. One city will be that big. That's just amazing what he has given to us.
[25:28] Like I said, the size, trust the brilliance of it as it radiates, pearls for gates. I want to see the oyster that made those pearls.
[25:45] Pearls of gold. I mean, pearls of, gates of pearl. You know, and the building materials are going to be far beyond anything we know of. It is going to be solid.
[25:56] It's going to last forever. Why is God going to make it so beautiful, so great? Look at verse 11.
[26:09] Chapter 21, verse 11. Having the glory of God and her like was like unto is for his glory.
[26:21] It's to remind us about what he has and what he has given to us. It's to demonstrate his love for us that he's giving us this place.
[26:35] Think about it for a second. Why would God reveal so many details? He doesn't reveal a lot of details about something, but why does he give so many details about this? To illustrate his glory, his majesty, and to remind us what is it we're doing all of this for?
[26:57] Why are we doing all these things? He wants us to anticipate what eternity is going to be like. He wants us to look forward to the blessings that we're going to have.
[27:09] We make sacrifices. We do things. But he wants us to understand he's doing something for us as well. He's taking care of us. So, let's stop there for right now.
[27:24] We'll pick it up this afternoon. Okay? Do you have any Father? Father? Father? Father? Father? Father? Father? Father? Father? Father? Father? Father?